The Labyrinth Pictures was founded in 2016 by Sina Dolati, Emmanuel McBride and Shaq Hosein as a multi-purpose production company, producing independent film (fiction and commercial), as well as hosting events and other services under The Labyrinth umbrella with the aim of cultivating the Toronto filmmaking scene. Our summer Events Coordinator Farah Mannan has also had a large role in helping this event come to life, as well as Rangga Luksatrio who has helped us in reaching out to Toronto musicians.
The 2017 rendition of the Toronto New Wave showcase is the first public event hosted by the company, screening a multitude of short films from independent Toronto filmmakers, as well as including performances from Toronto indie bands. The event takes place at 7 PM, Saturday August 5th, at Cinecycle.
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Matthew Toffolo:What is your Film Festival succeeding at doing for filmmakers?
Sina Dolati: We’ll have to see! This is the first public event our production company (The Labyrinth) is hosting since getting founded in 2016 and we’re very excited to see how it goes. Our goal is to provide an outlet for emerging Toronto filmmakers and allow them to comfortably network with one another in an intimate space.
What would you expect to experience if you attend the festival this year (2017)?
Definitely some great films from up and coming filmmakers of Toronto, as well some fantastic performances by Toronto indie bands. This rendition of the event is more of a ‘showcase’ than a festival, and it will be a jam-packed night for all attendees.
What are the qualifications for the selected films?
Since our screening time is rather short this time around, we’re prioritizing films from Toronto. We’d like to keep it as diverse as possible and include films from filmmakers that we see potential in.
Do you think that some films really don’t get a fair shake from film festivals? And if so, why?
I think it can go both ways. Some films do really well commercially but so not much in festivals, and vice versa. It really depends on the niche target audience. In our case, the goal is to include films from as many Toronto filmmakers as possible.
What motivates you and your team to do this festival?
We founded The Labyrinth umbrella as a way for us to continue making films under The Labyrinth Pictures, all while establishing a network for Toronto artists through a variety of events and services. With Toronto New Wave, we’re excited to illustrate that vision and see it all come together at a physical event for the first time. There is no fee to submit a film and tickets to attend the full event are sold at a very affordable price (~ $6).
How has your FilmFreeway submission process been?
t has definitely sped up the process. We kept it open to international submissions in order to get an understanding of interest in this sort of event. In the short 11 day submission
period, we’ve received just about 1000 submissions, 100 of which were from Canada. We did not expect to receive this many. At all. We’ve learned a lot (in terms of statistics), which we’ll keep in mind for future renditions of the event. For the August 2017 event, we’ll only be showing films from Toronto in order to create a strong base within our audience network.
Where do you see the festival by 2020?
Believe it or not, the process that was most challenging for our team in organizing this event was coming up with a name! We finally selected Toronto New Wave, since it was close to our vision of providing an outlet for emerging Toronto filmmakers (as well as musicians for this event) that continue to enrich the Toronto art scene with innovation. We strive to continue pursuing this vision, and think that the festival will be much larger by 2020, including innovative segments targeted at niche audiences (e.g. Virtual Reality films, Animation, etc.)
What film have you seen the most times in your life?
I have no idea. Maybe Jurassic Park. Loved dinosaurs as a kid.
In one sentence, what makes a great film?
I don’t think most filmmakers intend to make a film that is ‘not great’, it just comes down to knowing your audience and being able to execute your vision masterfully enough in order to communicate it with them.
How is the film scene in your city?
Toronto is the third largest screen-based production centre in all of North America, just behind New York City and Los Angeles. However, I think the film industry here is still rather scattered compared to what we see in the US. There is a large gap to fill, which is where companies like ours come into play to provide direct production and screening based networking and resources. Some non-profit organizations such as the Liaison of Independent Filmmakers of Toronto (LIFT) and Raindance Toronto succeed greatly at doing just that.
Interviewer Matthew Toffolo is currently the CEO of the WILDsound FEEDBACK Film & Writing Festival. The festival that showcases 20-50 screenplay and story readings performed by professional actors every month. And the FEEDBACK Monthly Festival held in downtown Toronto, and Los Angeles at least 2 times a month. Go to www.wildsound.ca for more information and to submit your work to the festival.
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Reblogged this on WILDsound Writing and Film Festival Review.
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